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Declaration Of Assets And Liabilities Law: A need for change

18 Apr 2021

By Yumiko Perera   The declaration of assets and liabilities of public officials and representatives is a powerful tool to prevent corruption, bringing illicit enrichment and conflicts of interest to the limelight. Public access to declarations not only multiplies their anti-corruption value, but also helps create a transparent and accountable political culture. While a declarant is required to declare all assets such as income, fixed assets, and movable assets as well as liabilities such as bank loans in their name and in their family members’ names, under the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law No. 1 of 1975, all senior public officials mentioned in the Law as well as representatives of the public are expected to submit their declaration of assets and liabilities when taking office and thereafter annually. The existing Declaration of Asset and Liabilities Law, however, excludes a multitude of public servants whose paychecks come from the hard-earned money of the general public. Government lawmaker Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe PC has tried long and hard to amend the declaration laws in the country. A bill to amend asset declaration too has been tabled in the Parliament but to no avail. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Rajapakshe shared: “A bill concerning the amendment of asset declaration has been tabled; it is only a matter of time until the Cabinet grants its approval. I have written multiple letters to the President and the Speaker concerning the amendment of current asset declaration laws in the country, but they don’t seem to be taking any note of it.” Lamenting that the present Government, similar to the previous Government, does not seem to be interested in granting approval to the bill to amend asset declaration laws, Rajapakshe stated the Parliament exists to pass acts and bring in laws for the betterment of the country and its people, adding that the Parliament seems to be doing everything but its designated roles. He said that as the fine for failing to make the declaration is only Rs. 1,000, they happily pay the fine instead of making the asset declaration. Highlighting that through the amendment he expected the fine of failing to produce an asset declaration would be raised to Rs. 100,000, Rajapakshe elaborated: “MPs and ministers from local governments are not included in the Act (Law). Commissioners of various commissions, ambassadors, high commissioners, as well as the president are also excluded in the present Act. This needs to change; many corruption cases have been filed against various public servants recently.” The proposal, which aims to amend the legislation, will make it compulsory for the president, the speaker, ministers, deputy ministers, and Sri Lankan envoys to declare their assets and liabilities annually. Election Commission (EC) Chairman Nimal G. Punchihewa, speaking to The Sunday Morning, stated that all electoral candidates must hand in their asset declarations to the EC within the first three months following the election, shared: “The current laws which are in place don’t seem to be practical enough to facilitate the requirements today. We believe that the Asset and Liability Act should be amended.” Highlighting that there is a need for a declaration of expenditure that goes into election campaigns, Punchihewa further stated that the Law should be amended to facilitate this requirement because the present law does not seem to be practical enough. “This procedure had existed back in 1975 before the 1978 Constitution was created. An auditor’s report was expected to be presented concerning one’s expenditure. If the auditor’s report hadn’t been produced, it results in the parliamentarian losing his/her position in Parliament. Had they by any chance not got elected, then they would have had to pay a fine, and it also results in the candidate losing his/her civil rights,” he shared. In conclusion, Punchihewa noted that in case the presented declaration was found to be falsified and included inaccurate information with regard to assets, they would lose their seat in Parliament. The legislature passed the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law in 1975, and amendments were made in 1985 and 1988. However, the Law remained dormant and restricted to papers, with several attempts made by the EC and other independent anti-corruption organisations yielding no success. A multitude of anti-corruption groups have long been advocating for stronger asset declaration laws, not only citing that it would promote transparency and accountability, but also noting that public scrutiny of the asset declarations of elected representatives will help promote integrity and tackle corruption. In this regard, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) Executive Director Nadishani Perera shared: “TISL has highlighted the importance of filing asset declarations in Parliament as well as the importance of publishing them so that citizens can monitor and scrutinise the actions of public representatives. An asset declaration allows you to see whether your elected representatives are unjustly enriching themselves at the cost of the public purse by abusing their office.” In 2019, a group of five Sri Lankan MPs from across party lines came together to publish their declarations of assets and liabilities in the public domain. These MPs included Tharaka Balasuriya, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, M.A. Sumanthiran, Vidura Wickramanayaka, and then State Minister Eran Wickramaratne. Other MPs including Dr. Harsha de Silva, Wimalaweera Dissanayake, Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, Syed Ali Zahir Moulana, Ranjan Ramanayake, Dayasiri Jayasekara, and most recently, Sivagnanam Sritharan have also made their asset declarations, according to TISL data. While TISL has also written to all MPs, on behalf of the public, requesting them to disclose their asset declarations to the public recently, the information the general public would acquire with regard to the asset declarations of public servants prevents a requestor from freely discussing the declaration obtained or sharing it under the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law of 1975. A breach of these laws can lead to either one year in prison and/or a Rs. 1,000 fine. Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) National Co-ordinator Manjula Gajanayake told The Sunday Morning that submission of declaration of assets and liabilities will not affect the integrity of the electoral candidates as per the present law, adding that even if there is a 100% turnover of these asset and liability declarations, there is no proper follow-up process when it comes to it. “According to the provisions of the present law, even if the general public gains access to this information, they cannot reveal the information they acquire. After the Election Commissioner accepts these declaration forms, they are locked up somewhere, away from the eyes of the general public,” he said. Highlighting that there needs to be a stronger sense of agitation with regard to this coming from the general public, according to Gajanayake, there are several factors that contribute towards electoral candidates not submitting an asset declaration. The candidates would not be facing any consequences even if they don’t submit an asset declaration, nor can severe action be taken against them. “As an election observer, I believe the declaration of assets and liabilities is vital when it comes to the checks and balances process, but it is also evident that the current laws in place are outdated and in dire need of amendment. There would be no point in publicising this sort of information without amending the law. Not only would it bring more legitimacy to declaration laws in this country, but it would undoubtedly help in making the electoral process more transparent and also in tackling corruption within the country,” Gajanayake said in conclusion.


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